Sword Coast Legends, Thus Far

I stated not too long ago that many of my concerns about Sword Coast Legends could be swept under the rug if the primary story/campaign was engaging enough. Having spent a few evenings traipsing around with a small group of friends, I'm beginning to believe I was actually on to something. After nearly ten hours in, I'm finding the campaign experience quite enjoyable. While it's still been a struggle to appraise the other elements of the game (even as an experienced DM), I can't say the custom multiplayer experience doesn't have potential.

In-House Concerns

It's leaps and bounds beyond what was attempted in Neverwinter Nights, but still seems to be lacking the spark that it needs to truly suck in both content-creator DMs and adventure-enthusiast players alike. Fortunately, the creators of the game are very much aware of the dilemma and have plans to shore up the game's deficiencies. Dan Tudge himself (Director of SCL and President at n-Space) alluded to what he and his team are thinking, even this early after initial launch:

"...early user impressions for Sword Coast Legends have been polarizing. While many players love it, it is clear that for many, Sword Coast Legends did not meet their expectations. For those who have expressed disappointment in the game, I have just one thing to say: "We hear you." We are a very small, independent development team, and we would not have made it this far without you. We thank you for your continued support. In D&D, the party is everything, and you are the best party to have, by far.

As much and as long as we've labored to launch SCL, this is really just step one, a foundation for an even greater experience we have always intended to improve and expand. Our goal has always been to put Sword Coast Legends into the hands of would-be adventurers and to work with them to improve that experience. We have an aggressive list of content and updates planned for the near-term... "

The Director went on to point out a huge list of planned updates and features from now until the end of the year, touching on features and plot elements relevant to the current Dungeons & Dragons theme of a return to the Underdark. In the summarized lists, Dan also pushed forward to the end of the year and the larger story taking place for D&D with the Rage of Demons Saga.

Despite having mixed feelings about the launch of Sword Coast Legends, I am encouraged that the team has this much content and so many new features already planned with firm release dates. It's always painful to jump into a brand new game and discover that it isn't quite everything you imagined. Fortunately the developers have plans in place to remedy the game's rough beginning, all without charging current players an additional dime.

List of Additional Features by Release Date

Halloween Update: "The Pumpkin Patch": Released October 30th

New "Liars' Night" themed area and placeables in the spirit of Halloween - Cemetery DM location with over 35 new placeable objects and new player gear

Screen nudge with mouse (toggled option) - Players will now be able to move the camera by nudging the edges of the screen. The WASD keys and the middle mouse button will still work the way they currently do.

Auto-heal at Adventurer's Camp - When entering the adventurer's camp, the party will heal any damage previously taken.

Community Pack 1: Week of November 9th

Nature Set - New outdoor area cleared and ready for customization with over 150 new placeable nature objects for DMs.

Ability Respec - Characters wishing to forget their prior training will be able to do so. All character points will be refunded, allowing players to change builds or reselect their characters' abilities.

Player Stash - Players will be able to store additional items within their own personal stash.

Skill Rolls - Players will be able to use ability rolls that take their character's bonuses into account. For instance, characters will be able to specifically make a "Strength" roll and have their Strength modifier automatically added to the roll.

Increased Number of Available Monster Abilities - Custom creatures will have additional monster abilities available to them.

Community Pack 2: Week of November 30th

 Revisions and improvements to the rules for death, party wipe, and stabilize, including new options for players that want more challenge

 Village area and village-related placeable objects for DMs to use in their modules

 Ability to give ambient text to NPCs on select

 Ability for DMs to change the randomized interiors of every tile

 Lock/unlock locations on all quest states (give/update/complete)

 Bug fixes and additional community feedback items as time allows

Community Pack 3: December

 Official introduction of mod support, including:

 Tile based level editor

 Branching dialog editor

 Adjustable game systems, ex: round timer, loot tables, etc.

 Community facing development of these features to begin immediately

 Option to disable monster level scaling in DM campaigns

 Bug fixes and additional community feedback items as time allows

Rage of Demons: Coming Soon

Return to the Underdark in this all-new adventure taking place as part of D&D's "Rage of Demons" storyline, featuring the legendary outcast drow Drizzt Do'Urden and some of the deadliest enemies ever to terrify Faerûn.

 New Rage of Demons tile sets and placeable objects

 New playable race: Tieflings

 New creatures available for DMs

 New Playable class based on community input

 Allow player-created characters as companions in story mode

 Enable players to control their characters' movement with the WASD keys

About The Author

Alex has been playing online games and RPGs for quite some time, starting all the way back with Daggerfall, EverQuest, and Ultima Online. He's staying current with the latest games, picking up various titles and playing during his weekly streams on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings with both MMOs and MOBAs being feature plays. Hit him up on Twitter if you have a stream request for Freeplay Friday! Two future games he's got a keen eye on are Daybreak's EverQuest Next and Illfonic's Revival.